This blog is for all who desire to create with words and images.
You are encouraged to participate in any way that is meaningful to you.~
All prompts beneath the photos are only suggestions. You are free to use the photo to be inspired to write any way you desire. ~ There is no deadline on posting, you may offer your writing to any prompt anytime.~Write and you are a writer.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Photo by Jim Pankey "WildSpirit"Jim's Photography can be found at Picasa and Fotothing~Suggested prompt...

~

Celebrating new possibilities.

__________________

Out with the old and in with the new,Fool yourself with a resolution or two:Loose some weight,Clean the shed,Fix the gate,Rotate the bed,A habit to quit,Some notes to write,Get more fit,Forget some slight,Walk each day,Drink good wine,Open a café,Protect your spine,More quality time,Be more polite,Remove the grime,That novel to write,The list is endless, goes on and on.Perhaps we’ve got this whole thing wrong.We load ourselves with lists of guilt;With the bricks of “must”, failure’s built.What if we forgot our baggage to dateAnd started again, with a clean slate?

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

This mountain is my sovereign, and while I bow and pay obeisance to her majesty, I know that I must always, always respect her, for if, in an unguarded moment, I become casual or cavalier in my attitude, she will punish me cruelly, as is her right. For she must maintain her immutable power; it is why others look to her in awe.

~ S. Kay Murphy

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Take Handel's "Hallelujah" Chorus from his Messiah, remove the word "hallelujah" from the text, and substitute the word "gorgonzola" in its place. Sing zestfully. Follow up with platters of sliced gorgonzola and a nice Dom Perignon. Enjoy.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Garlic is a thing quite magicThough its effects can be quite tragicIt’s really not hard to guessWhy it gets so much bad pressWhen after some garlicky dinnersPeople smell of cheap paint thinners.

Chorus

Good clove, bad cloveYou’re the one that we loveUse a lot or just a touchCan there really be too much?

It’s mystical powers clearly willAddress all manner of bodily illsAgainst cholesterol, it is a winnerAnd it makes your blood flow thinnerIt helps fight cancer, or so they say,And even keeps a vampire at bay.

Chorus

It grows, we’re told, where Satan stoodA force for evil or a force for good?I don’t care, I love the stuffIt’s very hard to get enough.There’s one thing God should be knowingIf there’s none in Heaven, I ain’t going.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Twas the night before Christmas and Cynthia sat.She needed more money, there was no doubt about that.She worked in customer care for a retailer's siteand she picked up extra hours that day and that night.The phone rang constantly without a single pauseand she felt like she was busier than good ol' Santa Claus.At one point the phone rang and she answered on cue,"Thank you for calling, this is Cynthia, how can I help you?""Cynthia," the voice of a middle-aged man said,"I'll bet you're very busy!" Cynthia nodded her head."Yes, sir, we have been," she said with a smileand the man replied, "I'll bet you haven't had a breather in while!"Do you have some water or a drink close by?Go ahead and take a sip. I'll wait, I don't mind!"Cynthia thanked the man and asked what he needed."Well, we both need a chuckle and I don't know how you've been treated."He explained that he had placed an order not ten minutes beforejust as an excuse to call in and cancel it and then a little more.Cynthia canceled the order and asked what else she could do.He proceeded to laugh and tell her a joke or two.She smiled and laughed and thanked him for the break.The gift he had given her was so thoughtful and great.As they hung up she smiled and was filled with delight.That one phone call had made Cynthia's whole night.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

not just a telling of the memory, but make us see and feel and experience

the emotions, the sights, the smells, the sounds in a unique way.

(This process may take a bit longer than 5 minutes,

but memories can take a smidge of time )

~

Remember all prompts are only suggestions,

you may use this image creatively any way that moves you.

_____________________________

When I was little, we would travel to my Gram’s house on Christmas Eve and celebrate Christmas with a delicious dinner, opening wonderful surprises and spending priceless amounts of time with family.

It was Christmas Eve and we were all getting ready to go to Gram’s house. My mom was looking for my boots, singing me that song that she always would sing to me (“Put your shoes on Lucy, don-cha know yur in the city”).

I was so excited and couldn’t wait to get into the car. The ride to Grammy’s on Christmas Eve was always so exciting for me and this year, it’s snowing. Snow is coming down like the biggest snowflakes you’d ever seen in your life. Close your eyes and picture them.

We’re in the car and we’re ready to go, so I thought we were. “Wait”, mommy says, “I forgot something.” She always forgets something on Christmas Eve. You know, I really don’t recall my brother being in the car with me but I know that he was. This was the adventure of a lifetime for a little girl. Daddy told me that we just might see Santa in his sleigh on the way to Grammy’s house. Mommy comes back and we’re off to Grammy’s house. She didn’t bring anything back with her though, maybe she forgot again and just decided to leave it.

As we’re driving, I’m gazing out the window in search of anything that would remotely resemble a reindeer, a sleigh, a chubby red and white suit; anything that appeared to be Santa. Whoa, daddy’s doing that again. My stomach just about jumped out of my body for a minute. “Daddy, stop it. I don’t like it when you do that.” I told him. He loved catching us by surprise when going over those little hills. It was fun, I’ll admit but I had to play along with him.

“Aren’t we there yet, daddy?” I asked. I knew we weren’t, but I was waiting so long and there was no sign of Santa; I was getting anxious for some excitement. “Oh, there he is. See him over there, honey?” Daddy was pointing out the window. I didn’t see anyone, not even a bird or a person. Was he fooling with me? I don’t know; all that I could do was believe my daddy saw Santa and I missed him…again, just like every other Christmas Eve. Humph

I wait for the strange little building that we always go by on the way to Grammy’s house. I just know that’s where Spock lives. Do you remember Spock, from the Starship Enterprise? We watched Star Trek everyday. I know that he must live in this funny little building, it just looks so strange. So, I’ll search for Spock now instead of Santa. Oh, here it is. Look at it, it sits down below the road and that big wire fence all around it must be protecting them from something. Inside the windows, I see all of the little lights but I don’t see any of them. Where are they all? Oh, there it goes. Nope, didn’t get to see Spock either. I suppose at least I can try tomorrow or the next day. At least I don’t have to wait a whole ‘nother year to see Spock.

Hey, if I make my eyes do this; all of the lights are so pretty. “Mommy, can you see the lights like this? Put your eyes like this, mommy, so you can see them. They’re so pretty like this. They’re almost like big colorful snowflakes.”

Yay, we’re finally here at Grammy’s house.

~Digging through the treasure of my memories brings back the feeling of anticipation and imagination in one little girl. Believe me, I was filled with it. I still am to this day. Christmas is a feeling I carry with me all year long and when the season for it finally approaches, it’s like I’m able to pull the inside out in decorations.

~I hope you enjoyed the adventure of riding to my Grammy’s on Christmas Eve with me. Oh…later on in life, I found out that mommy never forgot anything. She would say she did, in order to go back in the house and be Santa’s helper…before we got back home. All of the presents were opened on Christmas Eve at our house. What a great life for a little girl. I was truly blessed.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

To my 16 year old self...Dear Erin-After four decades I feel that I have the right to say what I know you were thinking back then, but couldn't bring yourself to believe it. (Quit rolling your eyes, young lady!)

You will find the love of your life, but not in some faraway place. He will be right under your nose, practically in your backyard, even though you don't believe it could be possible with all the clods you go to school with. And he will love you more completely than you could ever have thought possible. He will treat you with respect and care and will bring you much happiness. Just be open to the possibilities all around you.

Don't let others tell you that your interests are wrong. Go with your gut. Take those art classes you want to take, jump up on stage and start singing your heart out. I know you are waiting and hoping that someone will take you by the hand and lead you there and tell you that they have been waiting for you all along to share your gifts with the world. That just ain't gonna happne, girl! You need to believe in yourself enough to be your own best cheerleader. Don't waste another minute! At 40, I have finally found where my path in life was leading...if I had just had the confidence at 16 that I do now, there is now telling where I would be now! But I know that there is no where else to go but up and you are laying the foundation back in 1984. Make it strong.

Trust yourself.Believe you are made for bringing light and joy to those around you.You are not alone, your life is not lived in vain, and there are so many people who will come to be inspired and hopeful because you are in their lives.Believe that there is a greater calling to your life and that you are meant to live it.This is not some hooey I am telling you, I've been there. I am living it!

It was very hard to pick one piece for today's front page. All the offerings for this prompt were excellent. ~ Laura Jayne

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

While doing some last minute Christmas shopping, Mrs. Slug received a call on her slugphone. (The bubbling sound you hear is just the newest ringtone from the hot new band "Goo me right.")

Mr. Slug asked Mrs. Slug, "Whats for dinner?"

Mrs. Slug replied, "If you don't let me off this phone, it's gonna be either McSluggles or PizzaSlug."

Mr. Slug was silent for a moment. He could sense the shopping fatigue in Mrs. Slug's voice. He took a deep breath, wiggled his tail and said, "Don't worry honey, I'll just stop by the taco place and pick up a couple of leaf burritos."

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

A big whopper of a tale, or a small remembrance of fishing with your father...

See how creatively you can include a fishy bit of fun in today's writing.

______________________

My dad took us to Alexandria, Minnesota for a week's vacation in the early '50s. He took me fishing, from a rental boat. I remember the lure: a Hula Popper.He told me where he thought the big bass in the lake was, and how to look for the places that would provide good ambush points.

Dad pointed out a likely location, a break in the lily pads away from the huge mass of them, and told me to cast the frog design Hula Popper into the small clearing separating them and to let it sit.

I did. The Hula Popper's rubber tails (like a hula skirt, which gave the lure it's name) danced and wiggled and I could imagine a huge bass giving it the eye as it enticed him into the strike.

Nothing happened. Then dad said to just twitch the lure a little bit.

The water exploded and I was completely hooked on bass fishing!

Although the bass only weighed 2.5 pounds, it was enough to pull me in for a lifetime in pursuit of the Largemouth Bass.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

"I looked out over the ocean and couldn't even see any land at all, mommy." said the little girl, "Daddy held my hand so tight. He said that he didn't want the waves to grab me up and pull me in."

"That's right, honey." Daddy said.

"Know what happened, mommy?" said the little girl. {I knew what happened, I took the picture - but I had to pose for the excitement in her face...she wanted to tell the story}

Giggling and trying hard to tell the story, the little girl proceeded with..."Then we stepped into the water and the waves pulled daddy in and grabbed him up. Mommy, he was still holding my hand {giggling} and he was laying in the water up to his head. I was standing strong, mommy. I was taking care of daddy."

On the way home, I begged for daddy to stop at the little snack shack for french fries. He asked me if I would pay him back the $3.?? and I said yes. Many, many years he's asked for his $3.??'s.

~Seeing this picture reminded me of the day my daddy took me trout fishing; just daddy and his little girl. Yes, this was a true to life story of mine; with the exception that my mom was not there to take a photo and there were no waves, just a few slippery rocks and some pretty chilly water. I only have the photo in my mind of that day {and I giggle} because I do remember it so vividly. My dad was 6'7 in his day...I was just a wee little 5 yr old girl in comparison. What a grand moment in time it was. It still brings me a feeling of strength.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

where do i live in the worldor where does the world live in methe first seems so insignificanti have changed location so many timeswith little effectand although the world has changed a number of times in me as welli still find those effects to be far more life-altering.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

(All the offerings on today's post were wonderfully fun. But Hedgie's was right on (ok, can't help myself) target ~ LJ)

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE! If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

"Step this way," said the smiling tour guide, as he held out his hand to assist me into the little boat.

As I sat, I arranged my sweatshirt, tucking my hair into the hood, and tugging on the lace to tighthten it.It wasn't that it was extremely cold, but the mist crept over me, slithering its soft fingers over my skin. I shivered involuntarily.

As we glided over the water, the tour guide spoke about the history of the buildings. Including myself and the guide, there were four people balancing the boat. The woman asked the guide something about ghosts, as she did she laughed nervously and glanced at her companion.

"Oh, yes," he replied, "these waters are indeed haunted."

He smiled impishly, then continued with the usual historical information.

I took my camera out of my pocket, and took some snapshots. As we floated around a bend, I scrolled through what I had shot.

One photo made my heart skip a few beats and my hands turn to ice.

There was a woman in the water.

I looked up to see the guide watching me.

"You saw her?" he quietly asked.

Instead of answering, I looked behind us, where there was nothing but water.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

In the beginning, there was light. The light shone through the entire store and all of the workers prepared for the sale to come.

As in all of the fabric stores, each roll of fabric was perfectly displayed in a long roll evenly along the isles. One little pink roll of furry fabric desiring to be noticed was suddenly grabbed up and thrown into the shopping cart, along with another roll….of blue fabric, with the same fluffiness. As the two rolls collided, they each felt a spark of electricity surge through them. It was a feeling they’d never felt before.

The woman brought the fabric to the cutter and asked for a yard from each roll. What would become of them?

Feeling became them as the little rolls of fabric were placed on the counter. Each unrolled, flip-flop – flip-flop and then it stopped. They could feel metal in the touch of their fur, slicing and tearing a piece of self from them. For what reason, they wondered?

Individuals, they became. The woman packed all of the fixings in her shopping bag and headed for home. Upon arriving at home, she excitedly pulled everything from the bag and began fiddling. The two fabrics were poked, sliced (again), picked and stomped; they were stuffed and positioned. Then suddenly, each little fluff began to sense. Sensing became of them…more feeling. The woman placed a tiny little heart within each bunch of fluff and she continued to pick at them.

It was finished, so they thought. The two fluff’s rested in their new feelings, they’re new senses; still wondering about the electrical pull that became of them. The pull was still there.

Much time went by and the two fluff’s just waited, wondering and hoping that they would find meaning. One day, the woman came back. She picked up each of the fluffs and began poking at them again. Picking and poking until a new sense came to each of the little fluffs. The sense of sight became of them.

The two little fluffs had been unaware of the others existence until this moment. They didn’t understand all that had happened but they new that it was all done for a purpose. As their eye’s met; it became perfectly clear that they were made for each other.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The smell, the taste, the wonderful words... turmeric, coriander, anise

exotic, heady, use some spice in your writing today

literally or figuratively.

__________________

This time of year always brings back memories of my mother's kitchen. The aroma would drift into my bedroom a couple of days before Christmas. It was the tart, crisp smell of orange mixed with cinnamon and chocolate. It was time for orange peels coated in chocolate and smothered with sugar crystals and cinnamon. Mom could have made these throughout the year but it was known in our house that they were only made at Christmas. We all have our traditions but still today the brief passing of a spice shop transports me back to my mom's kitchen and the anticipation we all felt that accompanied the smell of cinnamon, orange and chocolate. Spices were the gold of the ancient world, to me the smell and taste of cinnamon is worth more than gold.~ Dan Felstead

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Grab a book (I know you have at least three close by) turn to page 100.

Pick one sentence there on that page and create something with it.

Use it as a basis for a poem, the start of a short story,

an essay on _____, get creative in any way you are moved.

Letting us know your book title and author as well would be nice.

________________________

Archaeological Study Bible - Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary..."The precise nature of the "festering boils" has provided much speculation and two alternative explanations: (1) People and livestock were infected with virtually the same disease...(2) The terrible plague was anthrax in animals., later transmitted to people as malignant pustule (anthrax)."

May, 13th 2009Three months into the nightmare, my son and I remain unaffected by the biological Armageddon unleashed just 100 miles to the south of us in the city. The rest of the family gone now.

June 17th, 2009How ironic, we have survived the initial onslaught but have fallen victim to the roving gangs searching for uncontaminated food and drinking water. We let them take the remaining morsels from the shelter in exchange for our lives.

June 19th, 2009With no communication since mid May, I have no idea how widespread the blanket of death has become. We emerged from the shelter today for the first time to survey the destruction. No structural damage to the town other than smashed doors to shops and the grocery store. Devoid of life, not just humans, no life. With no water, food or shelter now from the outside air, we will surely find ourselves longing for an end before the end comes.

June 21st, 2009In the event you find this journal, know that Zach and I wish you Godspeed. The fact that you are reading this must mean that the human race has indeed survived. May you be spared by the out of control ideologies that destroyed these generations. My son and I leave this world in hopes that past history is the spark that ignites a change that allows your descendants to flourish in your brave new world. Continue my journal entries as your reminder of mistakes made and lessons learned.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Once upon a time there was a penguin called Percy.Percy was one of those penguins that stood out in a crowd.All because of his eyebrows.Great chunks of yellow feather sticking out at all angles.The rest of him was a neat and tidy as a penguin should be.Dapper and smart in his black coat tails.When he was young the other penguins used to laugh at him .They called him names.Like 'Browsy'.That may not seem very bad butany sort of name-calling is unpleasant.Percy didn't like it.He wished his eyebrows were sleek and small,like those of his friends.

Later, when Percy was grown-up, eyebrows became all the rage.They were 'Cool' or, in Penguin language, 'Freezin'Everyone wanted eyebrows that were as fine as Percy's.Some Penguins spent ages trying to use their flippersto get their eyebrows to stand out like Percy's.But their flippers wouldn't reach.Percy could have laughed at them.But he didn't (only inside himself).Instead he used his flippers to help them.Wasn't he a kind Penguin.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

The news tells us of a deathOf someone, we never knew.Cold, clinical, matter of fact;Reported and over in a moment or two.

But that person, quickly dismissed,Will have had a mother and father,Maybe a sister or perhaps a brotherFriends, neighours, a significant other.Colleagues, storekeepers and so onAll increase the living sphereOf people who knew this news itemIn a way that’s deeply, painfully, dear.

We’re all statistics and yet we’re not;We’re people, we’re family, we’re all together;We’re beings that laugh and cry and bleed;We’re more than a short news item before the weather. ~ J Cosmo Newbery

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Photo by Jim Pankey "WildSpirit"Jim's Photography can be found at Picasa and Fotothing~Suggested prompt...

~

Write of war.

_____________________

Regarding this picture - Jim says... The old marine is a Pearl Harbor (USS Arizona) survivor, one of the original flag raisers on Iwo Jima, Ed Bardwell from Hemet, California. Look at his hands. They feel like coarse, sharp gravel. The little girl's name might be Cameron, who had just sung either 'God Bless America' or 'America the Beautiful,' I think, at ceremonies taken in 2006.

This is a second prompt this day, but Jim's photo is so strong I couldn't think of a better day to post it.

____________________

I held her tight, the way my father hugged me to him when he left for war. At the time, I thought nothing. I pulled away, the contact disgusting me. I didn't ever think that would be the last time I saw him. I hugged her close to me, like my mother had to me, when I had left for war. I hugged her tight, knowing soon, she would grow to be an invincible youth. I had been one too. We all were. We wanted nothing more than to fight, that rush. I held her close, knowing that eventually she would learn. No one is invincible. We had learned. We saw friends fall, friends who had seemed so strong, untouchable. I hugged her tight, knowing someday, she would learn the reality of what war meant. We that survived did. I held her tight.~ _we_the_pieces_

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

It has been so long. I've waited years to see him. I'm remembering how exciting it was to be with him, always up and moving. I was happy just to go along.I loved that person. I mean, I still love him, but will I love who he has become?I hear the car pull up and suddenly I'm scared. My head is full of what-ifs.What if it's too uncomfortable? What if I can't see who he used to be? What if he can't see me?My hand is clammy on the doorknob. There are butterflies in my stomach.I open the door to a different face but to that smile that warms my fear.

~ shabby girl

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

We will melt into the mist,Slip across the azure borderOf green indivisible water,Hidden from thoseSeeking to stifleThe sunlight of our being.We will dissolve,Like the moon in the harsh lightOf the risen day.Crossing the bridge,We will breathe our freedom,And continue our journey.

~ Sacha van Straten

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

DIAMANTE: The Diamante text forms the shape of a diamond.Line 1: Noun or subject - one wordLine 2: Two Adjectives that describe line 1Line 3: Three 'ing words that describe line 1Line 4: Four nouns - the first two are connected with line 1;the last two are connected with line 7Line 5: Three 'ing words that describe line 7Line 6: Two adjectives that describe line 7Line 7: Noun antonym for the subject

HAIKU: Haiku is Japanese poetry that reflects on nature and feelingsand the goal is to write what you see in a new or different way.There are three lines with five syllables in the first line,seven syllables in the second, and five syllables in the third.

(Remember all prompts are just suggestions,

you want to write a free verse, limerick or any other form please do.)

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

It’s happening again. This time I’m not asleep. I know this house but how do I know this house? Something’s got to give. I used to see it in my dreams over and over again but now I it flashes through my head like a lightning strike. I can’t stop thinking about it. I told Mr. Wright here at the foster home about it. He knows why I can’t see the house but he won’t tell me. Where are my mom and dad….would they know whose house it is? Are they even alive?

2

The flowers are beautiful. How can they be in the same image as this dreadful house? When I see the image again, I am going to just look at the flowers. I can’t, I focus on the whites and yellows and greens but the house draws me in. I can’t sleep now; I know what will happen over and over again.

3

Mr. Wright is worried about me, he says I ‘m preoccupied and won’t talk to the other kids my age. They seem normal, what is wrong with me? It must be my fault. It is my fault. Something happened in that house and it was my fault.

4

Mr. Wright says we are going to take a trip today. It will answer some questions but I should know that it is too soon to understand everything. We are leaving and heading towards the outskirts of town…I remember that small grocery store, “hey” I said, “stop” …I used to go in there when I was very young and my dad would….I remember my dad being with me! This is the town where I used to live. Where are they now, why did they put me in a foster home?

5

It was beginning to sleet when we pulled into the graveyard. Mr. Wright knew where we were going, he had been there before. The rose granite gravestone read: “Millers …Dedicated Husband, Wife and Beloved daughter”….”Taken into your loving arms, April, 1980”. I’m Chase Miller. It’s my family. How did they die? Why don’t I remember? It’s my fault. I was only 3. Why am I still living….it must be my fault.

6

I am now 28 and married with two children of my own. The day that Mr. Wright took me to the grave site was the day my obsession mercifully stopped. When we got back to the foster home, Mr. Wright showed me a picture of a house….a house in crisp focus….the house that I couldn’t get out of my head. The house that was driving me insane. It was a spring day in April, I was only three and wandered out to mom’s flowerbed. She told me we would watch the flowers grow. Mom always went with me but that day, she was busy cooking breakfast and getting dad off to work and Leah off to school so I went on my own. The trauma of the natural gas disintegrating the house and everything I knew right before my very eyes was too much. The counselors told me that I coped by eliminating the past from my memory. Into my early teen years, the image of the house began to resurface and had to be dealt with. Now, I know it wasn’t my fault and I have the crisp, in focus photo of a blue and white house with a wonderful flower garden framed and hanging on our wall. A link to my past and a release to let me live the rest of my life in honor of a family….my family. Thank you Mr. Wright.

~ Dan Felstead

One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE!

If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.

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